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theboardwalkpodcast OP t1_ja5c8sk wrote

Reply to comment by EqualityForAllll in We are the voices behind The Boardwalk Podcast, back for another discussion before we begin our next season covering all things Afghanistan. Ask us anything! by theboardwalkpodcast

I'll try to answer all of these.

  1. The US initially went to Afghanistan following the events of 9/11 to eliminate Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaida.
  2. Contractors became a useful tool to bypass troop limits in war zones. $108b, per the Costs of War.
  3. Civilian deaths had numerous causes, most commonly from drone strikes, crossfire, and botched missions. Estimated civilian deaths from the Costs of War are around 70,000 people.
  4. The US didn't decide it was okay to torture. Certain individuals did. Torture is wrong.
  5. Conducting patrols through poppy fields was common. Guarding them was not.
  6. The US is trying to pressure the Taliban government to become more tolerant and inclusive before releasing additional funds. Mind you, our government is still sending them money, just not as much.
  7. We don't have a good number but there are quite a few Americans still in Afghanistan.
  8. That money isn't for reparations. And it's being withheld from the government for the above stated reasons.
  9. American foreign policy has certainly become more expeditious since World War II and that creates myriad problems. Problems that are not well known to people who enlist at 20 years old.
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EqualityForAllll t1_ja5ge44 wrote

I appreciate your answering these questions. But, I think there's a bit too much military and not enough truth in these answers.

I have no idea where yall stand politically or, in relation to the war. I'm not a listener of yalls podcast but the idea that the USA had to invade a sovereign nation, spend trillions (while children starved at home), kill thousands of people (let alone INNOCENT PEOPLE), to find and stop Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, is absolutely absurd.

Those same militants you were trying to fight and kill were built by the government to fight a proxy war against Russia.

How do you feel, knowing that at the hand of your government, millions have died. Not for de facto, "oh, the ends justify the means", bull shit. But, for pure profit and greed? You yourself say the M.O has changed since WW2. None of what the USA has done since then has been to benefit anyone but their own agenda. So, in all seriousness, how does it feel to fight for that? To die for that? To have your friends blown up, for that?

I'm not a soldier and I'd rather blow my fucking brains out than participate in an unjustified war, but I cannot imagine fighting and thinking you're on the side of good, and then slowly discovering it's anything but that. I don't fault y'all. I just would be devastated.

>2. Contractors became a useful tool to bypass troop limits in war zones.

Do you mean to avoid the questions from the public, at home?

Black Rock made well over $15 BILLION per year, and gave back over 2 million in bribes (lobbying). How does this look like anything other than laundering billions in tax dollars to the elite?

>4. The US didn't decide it was okay to torture. Certain individuals did. Torture is wrong.

The USA government didn't know about the torture?

>5. Conducting patrols through poppy fields was common. Guarding them was not.

And yet, it happened. While some soldiers were caught smuggling drugs. Seems suspicious, don't you think? Not to even mention the CIA, Iran contra, crack cocaine scandal and how it relates to the military invading and the opiates crisis exploding at the same time ... just a conspiracy on my end. But, not unfounded.

>6. The US is trying to pressure the Taliban government to become more tolerant and inclusive before releasing additional funds. Mind you, our government is still sending them money, just not as much.

You don't truly believe this, do you? Abortions rights are stripped away, trans rights stripped away, gay rights stripped away, children plunged back into poverty with the stroke of a pen, homeless climbing rapidly and you truly believe your government has a vested interest in the human rights of a country it just finished raping? Really?

>7. We don't have a good number but there are quite a few Americans still in Afghanistan.

So the USA is, in fact, not pulled out?

>8. That money isn't for reparations. And it's being withheld from the government for the above stated reasons.

So, to be clear, the USA government, is controlling what, 7 billion dollars of poor farmers and civilians because "Taliban bad"? Really?

>expeditious

This is the part that really got me going (as you can clearly see). This is such a BS equivocation. I'm trying really hard to participate in good faith but for you (who, let's be clear, are also a victim of the American agenda), to insinuate anything other than murder for hire, is really, really frustrating.

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thebolts t1_ja7tmpe wrote

All good points. It’s unfortunate you’re being downvoted. But that speaks more on how Americans still feel about their failed war

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EqualityForAllll t1_ja7wkgv wrote

Its okay, I knew itd be unpopular. Thank you though. Your support makes it worth it

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MastadonWarlord t1_ja7iuoy wrote

You were born after September 2001 weren't you?

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thebolts t1_ja9iqlo wrote

Not everyone on Reddit is an American. Millions protested against the war on terror in Europe and the Global South after 9/11. It’s the American people that were completely fooled into yet more endless (and failed) wars.

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